|
|
|
|
|
|
Craig Lewis
As a newbie, I (Craig) am slowly getting oriented down here. Every few hours throughout the day, we trundle off to another corner of camp and get introduced to one more aspect of life at McMurdo. First on the docket for this morning was Driver Training to get checked out on the miscellaneous vehicles we'll be using to haul ourselves and our gear around camp. Our instructor for this was Elizabeth, a.k.a. "E.T", an enjoyable Antarctic hand who reveled in watching us newbies put ourselves into "difficult" situations.
Some of the vehicles are fairly standard, the weather here isn't that much worse than a typical winter day in Minnesota or Fairbanks. The standard vehicle around town is a 4-wheel drive Ford F350 truck; since the weather here IS a bit dodgey at times, it comes with a plug-in heater that keeps the engine block warm and the oil and coolant from freezing. We never park a truck without either plugging it in or leaving it at idle.
Similar to this, but a bit more flexible in its abilities, is the Mattrack. This is an F350 with each of its wheels replaced with a motor driven track. The vehicle inside feels exactly like a truck, but it handles more like a semi. Since the treads spin just like normal wheels, the Mattrack doesn't take corners well and can't be turned at all if the treads aren't turning. I managed to end up in an embarrassing fix when I misunderstood our instructor and pulled straight up to a stop sign without picking my turning line beforehand. A corner that a road-grader or semi could have taken with ease left me backing and cutting two or three times to get the wheels into proper alignment. Fortunately, the traffic down here is usually pretty light.
 |
A Mattrack on a cold spring morning. |
Next up was the Pisten Bully. These boxy little vehicles are also treaded, but do handle like a tank. With a quick twist of the wheel the whole box spins around on its axis, ready to dart off in any direction. Holding 8 comfortably (or fewer with the massive piles of dive gear we'll be hauling), one of these toy-like vehicles will be our standard transport to the dive site. The danger on these is that they will turn on a dime, even if you happen to be going full speed ahead at 20 miles an hour, and the treads only really grip in the forward direction. Jennifer was allowed to demonstrate a nice spinning skid with this, whipping those of us in the back around.
 |
Stacy drives the Pisten Bully into its parking lot. |
Our next destination was to the Mechanical Equipment Center (MEC), the source of all chainsaws, drills, pumps, heaters and other mysterious mechanical equipment that will make our lives and jobs easier. Our draw here was a pile of chainsaws, ice drills, generators, a tripod, and a winch. The standard of safety here is somewhat astounding; my previous firefighting experience left me expecting hours of tedious lectures on proper stances and handling for chainsaws. Tony and Willow, the two technicians, gave us the basics in a hurry, "this is the clutch, here's the starter cord, pull this, push that in, and keep trying until it works," pretty much summarized their instructions. Refreshing, really. After another monstrous McMurdo lunch, we were back in the MEC's clutches for an hour on snowmobiles. We were introduced to our big solid old Skidoo Alpine II snowmobiles, looking very solid, dependable, and simple to deal with.
Next, we headed down to the dive locker. Here we were introduced to the Dive Master, Rob Robbins, and his smoothly run dive operation. Rob has been in Antartica for 25 years, and is an incredibly valuable member of the Mcmurdo staff. While I've not been here long, I already have no qualms about diving with him, and have yet to hear anything but glowing recommendations about him. A description of our piles of gear, clothing and equipment shall have to wait for another day, as it's a complicated operation I have yet to fully understand or complete.
The final work item was to get accurate GPS coordinates for a hut on the nearby sea-ice. Jen and I took two GPS's down to the hut and held them out for long enough to get an accurate fix. We're in an are where the orbits of many polar satellites converge, so with clear skies and a bit of luck my GPS picked up about 7 different satellites, giving a very accurate fix. However, the cold is such that an exposed GPS quickly dies as the chemical reactions in the batteries and liquid crystal display freeze up. I've only had much luck with these if I keep them inside the Big Red Parka and pull it out for quick fixes. Unconcerned by all of the cold and commotion near the hut was a large Weddel Seal, the first living creature I recall seeing since I've gotten here. Not even gulls and penguins have put in an appearance in this cold early spring.
 |
New Zealand's Scott Base |
However, after dinner, we got a chance to visit the only other wildlife down here... Kiwis! A native New Zealander is commonly referred to as a Kiwi, and the country maintains a small base, Scott Base, about a mile away. Every Thursday night is Kiwi night, when the Yanks are shuttled over to shop at the store and visit the Kiwi Bar. The base, at around 120 people, is much smaller than McMurdo Station; while the two bases share a variety of responsibilities and systems, they are socially somewhat separate, as the thousand person population of McMurdo Station would quickly overwhelm the smaller Kiwi Base.
 |
One of the pressure ridges off Scott Base |
Stacy, Jonna and I strolled down to look at the amazing pressure ridges in the sea-ice off Scott Base. While the base is located along a coast that does clear our occasionally, it is very near the edge of the permanent ice shelf, and near the tip of the peninsula. Offshore there is a line where sheets of ice are grinding against each other, fracturing the ice and driving up spikes and sheets of blue ice many meters into the air. In the setting sun the scene was spectacularly lit, with golden blades and towers stretching toward the horizon. Finally, the three of us walked back to McMurdo, putting an end to one more long, information-filled and tiring day.